Until yesterday, however, when MMAFighting managed to get ahold of the ever-elusive Stocktonian and pressed him on his current standing with the promotion. Diaz’s response was a rant against the current state of fighter pay so vivid and thorough that we’re still not convinced it wasn’t spoken through his anger translator:

I’m ready to fight but not for some funny money that they’re trying to give me. They can let me go or they can let me fight, but let me do something. They know I need to make some money. I feel like they’re just trying to keep me on the waiting list. I don’t even want to communicate through anybody. If they want to figure out what’s going on, we should talk. No one is contacting me. I’m just doing my thing. Training every day. I’m ready to fight tomorrow.

They need to be about more money. My contract is all f*cked up. I want to be paid like these other fighters. I’m over here getting chump change. At this point, they’re paying all my partners and other people I train with are getting real money, and it’s too embarrassing for me to even fight again for the money they’re paying me. So they can either pay me or let me go. I’m with that.

Of course, being that Melendez *was* able to reach an agreement with the UFC after calling their bluff, it comes as something of a surprise that former lightweight title challenger Nate Diaz is now asking to be released from his contract. But that’s what happened yesterday, unless Diaz’s Twitter was somehow hacked. Diaz sent out the above tweet last night, stating “It’s time for me to be on my way…?” This of course, can only mean one of four things:

We won’t waste much of your time with another behind-the-scenes look into the life of Nick Diaz, but there is something fascinating — sublime, really — about these videos that we here at CagePotato simply cannot look away from. The latest entry (and by “latest,” we mean uploaded in 2009) in the Diaz saga, entitled “family vids 1,” eclipses even “You can get organic food with welfare“ on our list of all-time favorite Diaz moments captured on film, so we simply had to pass it along in lieu of any news worth writing about. You know, for science.

Despite being less than a minute in length, “family vids 1″ tells us more about the Diaz family than a million hostile interviews ever could. Revelations include:

-The Diaz family is not the real-life cast of The Wire, as previously understood
-Even when surrounded by family, Nick Diaz is paralyzed by social anxiety
-The Diaz’s have a harder time figuring out cameras than they do blenders.
-Nate Diaz *loves* posing for photos.

That last epiphany is easily the most shocking, especially to someone who once asked Nate for a photo at an MMA convention and was told to “take a short walk off a tall building.” Clearly Diaz doesn’t understand physics, because that…would’ve…killed…me…

“Nate Diaz has been talking so much and in his last fight, he actually looked pretty decent, but it’s harder to judge against Gray Maynard,” Pettis said on UFC Tonight. “I hope Nate works his way up so we can fight…Nate’s been talking for a while. Even after his last fight, saying ‘this is the No. 1 and No. 2 lightweights in the world.’ That’s taking a shot directly at me. That belt’s in my front room. It’s there for a reason.”**

In classic Diaz fashion, Nate responded on twitter by saying that Pettis needs to work his way up for a fight against Nate Diaz. (#stocktonlogic) Though Pettis seems to think that Diaz should keep fighting and winning before an eventual title-fight showdown, Diaz would rather skip that part entirely. In case you missed it, he made a startlingly wise statement about the subject during the TUF 18 Finale’s post-fight press conference last Saturday:

Of course, upon glancing over the TUF 18 salaries, one begins to understand why the Diaz brothers are constantly griping over fighter pay. While big bro Nick banked a cool 200k for his post-retirement, pre-re-retirement headlining title fight with Georges St. Pierre at UFC 158, it seems that Nate — who is also a former title challenger, BTW — is barely making more to show than he did in his early post-TUF days (via MMAJunkie):

Despite hailing from the same season of TUF as Maynard (and actually submitting him in the semifinals), recently fighting for a title, and collecting 4 “Of the Night” bonuses in each of his past 4 wins, Diaz is somehow making 1/3rd as much as Maynard to show. What. the. fucking. fuck.

(“Alright boys, this one’s for all the marbles. Well, maybe not *all* the marbles, but some of the marbles. There will definitely be marbles involved, that much I can promise you.” Photo via MMAJunkie)

Handling our liveblog of the FOX Sports 1 main card is Matt Kaplan, who will be sticking round-by-round results after the jump beginning at 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT. Refresh the page every few minutes for all the latest, and shoot us your thoughts in the comments section.

Over the weekend, UFC president Dana White revealed that lightweight champion Anthony Pettis had suffered a knee injury in training, but was still expected to defend his belt against Josh Thomson in the main event of UFC on FOX 9 (December 14th, Sacramento). “He’s going to fight,” White said. “For sure.”

Well, not really. UFC officials announced last night that Pettis has pulled out of the match. We have no details on the nature or severity of Showtime’s injury at this time, or if it’s related to the knee injury that pushed Pettis out of UFC 163 back in June. We’ll keep you posted.

The UFC plans to re-book Pettis vs. Thomson when the champ is recovered, but you never know with these things. Thomson was already the second choice for Pettis’s UFC on FOX 9 opponent after TJ Grant had to stay sidelined due to concussion. If Grant is healthy by the time Pettis is, the UFC might just do Pettis vs. Grant like they had originally planned. Meanwhile, Josh Thomson’s immediate future is in limbo, and the famously cursed fighter just saw the biggest opportunity of his career go up in smoke. [Ed. note:We'll start working on his illustrated timeline.]

…TO BE CLEANSED BY THE HOLY FLAME OF OUR LORD ALMIGHTY. For I, “The Dream,” am his vessel, the grail from which his vengeance is spilled unto the meek, uncultivated swine of this forsaken planet. Yes! Yeessssssss!!

I AM A SAVAGE. A savage who has returned to the 155 pound division to prove to the world that it is physically possible to love something to death. My enthusiasm is a river which shall break the levy of your insolence.

What must I do to draw your attention, Nate? I called you out when I announced my return to lightweight, and just yesterday, I even resorted to your species’ archaic, Godless device of social communication to further needle you. Yet still you do not respond. Is it because you KNOW and FEAR that which is “The Dream?” That whose spirit can not be broken? CONFESS AND YOU SHALL BE SAVED. YESS!!

Forget your upcoming fight with Mr. Maynard, for we both know that your heart is not invested in that little escapade. Your heart will have no such option when we tangle, for I will expose it from your chest, hold it betwixt my fingers and show you His light. And in that fragile, fleeting moment, you will thank me. You will say, “I am grateful for your friendship, Diego. God bless you.” You will SURRENDER to my influence and join the army of DREAMERS I have amassed over the years!! YES!